Dosai

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Dosai is a very popular Indian dish that has a 2000 year history in Tamil Nadu^[1]. The name is probably a portmanteau of the sizzling noise it makes while being formed on the skillet. It is primarily known by other alternate names such as "dosa" in other regions of the country. The dish is also quite popular in many countries outside India.

Dosai is a typical South Indian breakfast and considered to be nutritious because they are both low-fat or fat free, while providing the right amount of carbohydrates and proteins in the morning.

It is a shallow-fried 'pancake' made of a batter of lentils and rice. The "mavvu" or batter is usually consists of 1 measure of parboiled rice, one measure of raw rice and 3/4th measure of urad dal or ulatham paruppu. The three ingredients are ground to the consistency of semolina and fermented for many hours, usually overnight. The fermentation process requires a warm ambient atmosphere and is usually tough to achieve in cold weather. After the batter has risen to about twice its size, it is poured onto a hot skillet, then spread thin across it, usually in a circle and shallow fried in a little oil or neyyi/ghee. Dosais can also be made without the use of oil in a non-stick pan, making it a healthy and tasteful dish. It is usually served with a variety of accompaniments, most typically chutney and sambhar.

There are many variants of Dosai. Dosais can be stuffed with vegetables, masala, potatoes and peas, or coarse chili powder, to name a few. The paper roast is a large variety that is usually served in restaurants and is named so, because the shell of the dosai is as thin as a paper. The dosai mavvu gets sour as time goes by and usually is used to make Uthappam, which is a thicker version with vegetables in it. Sometimes the mavvu/batter is seasoned with mustard, green chiles, curry leaves, asfoetida and a pinch of salt to nullify the sourness before making the dosai. This is referred to as 'Thalichu Kotinai Dosai' which literally translates to Seasoned Dosai.

Though dosai typically refers to the version made with rice and lentils, many other versions of dosai exist and are popular in varying degrees. Some common ones are: 1) Rava dosai - made with rava or semolina, which doesn't need fermentation and is usually considered a fast snack/tiffin. 2) Wheat Dosai - made with wheat flour; and served with cocunut chutney. 3) Vella Dosai - a sweet dosai made of jaggery, with ghee/neyyi. 4) Ragi dosai - made of ragi or millet flour, usually considered a poor man's fare. 5) Muttai dosai - eggs are added to the regular batter, muttai in tamil means egg.

A closely related dish is the idli, which is steamed rice-pudding. Contrary to the common misconception, idli has more lentils than dosai.

The Tamil Nadu Government has declared Dosai Maker as a special employee category and designated its salary scale.